Santa Marta: History

Pre-20th-Century History

In pre-Columbian times, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast was home to various indigenous communities - the Tayronas (also spelt Taironas), belonging to the Chibcha linguistic family, were the dominant and most developed group. They are believed to have evolved into a distinctive culture since around the 5th century AD. A millennium later, shortly before the Spanish came, the Tayronas had developed into an outstanding civilization, based on complex social and political organization and advanced engineering.

Santa Marta lays claim to being the oldest surviving colonial town in Colombia. It was Rodrigo de Bastidas who planted a Spanish flag here in 1525, deliberately choosing a site at the foot of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta to serve as a convenient base for the reputedly incalculable gold treasures of the Tayronas. Bastidas had previously explored the area and was aware of the Indian riches to be found. As soon as the plundering of the Sierra began, however, so did the natives' resistance, and clashes followed. By the end of the 16th century, the Tayronas had been wiped out and many of their extraordinary gold objects (melted down for rough material by the Spaniards) were in the Crown's coffers.

Santa Marta was also one of the early gateways to the interior of the colony. It was from here that Jiménez de Quesada set off in 1536 for his strenuous march up the Magdalena Valley - he founded Bogotá two years later.

Engaged in war with the Tayronas and repeatedly ransacked by pirates, Santa Marta didn't have many glorious moments in its colonial history and was soon overshadowed by its younger, more progressive neighbor, Cartagena. An important date in Santa Marta's history, which is remembered nationwide, is 17 December 1830: the day Simón Bolívar died here, after bringing independence to six Latin American countries. Bolívar was about to sail for Europe when he succumbed to complications from tuberculosis.

Modern History

Santa Marta's port trade picked up early in the 20th century, thanks mainly to the export of coal and bananas. Trouble brewed in 1928 when workers of the United Fruit Company went on strike, demanding better working conditions and contracts. A Colombian Army Regiment was sent from Bogotá to help quell the unrest or, some say, to protect the company interests. What followed became known as the Santa Marta Massacre: troops opened fire on the crowded main square of Ciénaga, another town south of Santa Marta. The official death toll was 47 but, unofficially, it was much worse.

In 1961, the Atlantic Railway connected Bogotá with Santa Marta, and in 1968 the government decentralized the Port Authority, giving Santa Marta more autonomy. Around this time, guerilla and paramilitary groups were forming and using parts of Magdalena Department and the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta as a stronghold.

Recent History

Today, Santa Marta is still a busy port though tourism is its fastest-growing industry - Colombian tourists flock to the fashionable beach resort of El Rodadero while backpackers and divers favor the nearby village of Taganga. The city's colonial grace has faded under the newer concrete buildings and the population has blown out with seasonal workers and rural people displaced by the guerrilla and paramilitary groups.

The main event here is the mid-year Fiestas del Mar (Festival of the Sea).

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